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12 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | AUGUST 2020 By Sherrie Chaparro, Resident Perhaps by now you are tiring of television and want nothing more than to read an engrossing mystery series. Once again I am looking past the traditional bestsellers like Patricia Cornwell, Tom Clancy and James Patterson, to introduce a number of authors who may not be familiar to you. I have also included a movie. Kate Atkinson (Jackson Brodie series) Kate Atkinson is an excellent writer, and her venture into the mystery genre does not disappoint. This five part series focuses on Jackson Brodie, a former policeman turned private investigator, working out of Edinburgh, Scotland. If you like your mysteries with a hefty dose of character development, a number of intertwining stories that are all resolved in the end, and a dollop of humor, this series is for you. Although these additional two books are not mysteries, I also strongly recommend Atkinson's Life After Life and its sequel, A God in Ruins. Peter May (Lewis Trilogy) This series is a solid police procedural that leans a little dark. The main character is Fin MacLeod, a policeman in Edinburgh assigned to investigate a murder in his hometown on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, a number of remote islands along the northwest coast of Scotland. The novels follow a double track, changing points of view as it alternates between Fin's past and the current investigation. As Fin investigates the murder he also comes to terms with his past, a theme which carries through all three novels. Louise Penny (Inspector Gamache series) This Canadian author has written a gentle and charming police procedural mystery series, featuring Inspector Armand Gamache and his team of investigators from the Montreal police department. Each novel involves a different murder, usually in and around the small town of Three Pines. Although each novel is complete in itself, I recommend you start with the first book and read them in order, since there are several long running story lines. The town of Three Pines, with its bakery, bookstore and gourmet bistro, takes on a life of its own, as do its numerous eccentric inhabitants. Blow the Man Down (Amazon Prime) This is an entertaining, darkly humorous and quirky little movie. The story is set in a small new England fishing village and begins as a young woman returns to town for her mother's funeral and works with her sister to keep the family's fishing business afloat. She ends up harpooning a man who tries to kill her and enlists her sister's help in disposing of the body. As the movie delves deeper beneath the surface of the seemingly innocent town, we discover a seamier side involving a bordello owner and three older women intent on cleaning up their town. It was refreshing to watch a movie with a formidable cast of women able to look after themselves without the help of the "menfolk." Three Books and a Movie